I am most speechless.  Today has already been a marvelous day in the Lord!  Glory to God in the Highest!  What I have to share with you is riveting!

Unequally Yoked…………

What do you see here in this picture?  Two completely different animals, joined together with a yoke made out of wood.  Doesn’t that yoke look heavy?  It does to me.  So, there they are, how in the world is this going to work…..?

A mule, a cross between a male donkey and a female horse, is a hybrid, and, they cannot reproduce themselves…… sort of against nature.

Here are some of their traits: less obstinate, faster, and more intelligent than a donkey, possessing some patience, sure footed, and long life like a horse.  They are very deliberate and careful in their decisions, at all costs avoiding danger.  If well trained, are calm, tolerant, loyal, and affectionate.  They are alert and curious, not as easy to train as horses but what they learn is never forgotten.

When you get a good one, they are very good, when you get a bad one they are very bad.  They are independent, and don’t always cooperate among each other, and, in moral quality, still an ASS….. they can bite fiercely and have violent kicking fits, and they must be trained from an early age to do the most basic things.

Now, on the other side, we have the ox.  The ox is a pure breed, and is submissive to authority, and easily driven.  Oxen are normally used in pairs for plowing, pulling wagons, threshing grain, and providing pulling power for simple machines like millstones for grinding grain, and are painstakingly trained from a young age, with yokes of different sizes as they grow.  They are calm, with a willingness to respond to commands, and good oxen can read signals from the body language of its teamster.  They have a hierarchy in the herd, and operate accordingly, with trials of strength with no malice.  They are mild and gentle with innocence in a rough way, and they are patient in difficulty………… they are a breed built to survive.

I deliberately wanted to go through these characteristics to show you they not only look different, but they are different in every way.  Christians are different too, not all of us have the same level of response, desire, and obedience to Jesus, and our lives reflect it.

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?  and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial?  or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? f or ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty,”   2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (KJV).

It could be that maybe you think this somehow doesn’t apply to you, and that you can handle being joined with people who do not know the Lord, or, who are Christians, but not very spiritual.  Abraham had to leave his family of idol worshipers and Isaac had to send his servant on a search for an appropriate bride, of his own family.

The Lord says here in this scripture, that you can’t, you have little to nothing in common with them, and He doesn’t want you there with them because you have no agreement… to witness yes, but not a relationship, and, if it is pursued, a breakdown occurs in your relationship with God, because He wants you to live a life of faith… your freedom in Christ will be breached.   Solomon ultimately was drawn away by his wives of other religions.

I’m talking about holiness, a life of holiness, and, your going back to the unclean… great harm comes to you and your relationship with the Lord.  The Lord will not go there with you, He will not receive you if you do, and you will be walking in opposition to His perfect will for your life.

Instead, you are to come out from them and be separate, and then He will receive you, walking in fellowship with the Lord in a life filled with His Power and His blessings.

You should be progressing in your walk, becoming stronger in faith and obedience, and walking in holiness and separation from the world.

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us,”   1 John 1:5-8 (KJV)

“Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with a YOKE of bondage,”   Galatians 5:1.

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists: whereby we know that it is the last time.  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us…..”   1 John 2:15-19.

Compromise, seems to be everywhere today, and our hope in a future with the Lord lies not in joining them out of ‘love.’  But in showing them that loving Jesus means He wants us to be like Him, that there is a more excellent way.  Joy has left many Christians because they are no longer walking in the light, but in the shadows.

We are losing our witness today with others, because they cannot see a difference in us, there is no reason for them to want to change.

I know that relationships are at the very foundation of your lives, and the people you interact with influence you greatly, for better or for worse.  How can two walk together if they do not agree?

Disagreement encourages strife and struggle, without peace.  You need to seek to be pure and holy, separated unto Him. God is jealous for His people, and He is looking for a people who are dedicated and diligent in their loyalty to Him.

Let Him help you pursue excellence, and relationships with those Christians who want the holiness of God. What type of world will our Christian youth be growing up into?….. let it not be from compromise on your part.

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,”   Ephesians 5:15.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement,”   1 Corinthians 1:10.

“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching,”   Hebrews 10:24-25.

It’s time to come together church, let’s get yoked up with jesus and get back to the basics of faith and truth!

Part 2

Now we are going to go deeper, and as we have compared a mule with an ox yoked to one another, now we will compare two different groups of Christians yoked together, by the Holy Spirit.

Let’s look as some scripture to lead into this, and, I believe you will see more clearly what we’re talking about:

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not,”   Matthew 25:1-12.

We saw in part one, in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, that we are not to be yoked together with unbelievers. It didn’t say with the lost, that should be a given.  It said not to be yoked with those who did not believe God on the authority of His word.  The proof is not in what you say as much as what you do.

A Christian should NOT have open sin in their lives, unrighteousness, walking in darkness… we are to be children of the Light, having nothing more important than Him.

Look back at this scripture and Part 1 of this message if you have questions as to what I am saying.

Here in Matthew 24, we see this up close because its not just a list of traits, but what happened to them as a result of not walking with the Lord.  I want you to see it, that their heart was clearly displayed.  If you can see their lives, your life can also be seen clearly not only by God, but by other Christians.

Look at this scripture closely.  There were ten virgins.  All were virgins, all saved, all had SOME level of relationship with the Lord, but they were not all alike.  Five were wise and five were foolish, and we see both groups were yoked together by God because they possessed the Holy Spirit, but they were SPIRITUALLY DIVIDED.

The oil talked about here is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, the anointing of God. The foolish virgins, had oil, but fooled around and took no extra oil with them.  They had a level of the Holy Spirit, a level of spirituality, but as we will see, it was not enough to carry them through to the end.

The wise virgins, on the other hand, took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  They were full of the Holy Spirit, so much so that they had extra, an overflow.  They are strong in the Lord and the power of His might.  When the cry came to meet the bridegroom, they all arose and trimmed their lamps to meet Jesus… they put on the Light.  When the light is shining the brightest, truth is revealed.

As they all were trimming their lamps, the foolish were already running low on the oil, and they began to panic, because their lamps were going out.  They began to ask the wise virgins to share their oil, but they turned them away to go buy for themselves, for then they would not have enough.  Beloved you have to get more of the Holy Spirit on your own, you can’t depend on someone else to fill you up with what you need.  It’s time to walk in the faith you have been told to walk in, going on to maturity, go to the source, God himself, seeking the Lord and searching out the scriptures for yourself.

Then Jesus came, and because the wise virgins were ready, “they went in with him to the marriage: AND THE DOOR WAS SHUT!”

Remember I said they were yoked together because they both had the Holy Spirit, but not alike?  The foolish virgins relationship was stronger with the world than with the Lord or strong believers.  This shows very plainly, by the fact the foolish virgins were not prepared for His return, they did not see it as important because they didn’t think… that’s right, they didn’t use their head and heed the warning signs in the word of God, they thought they were fine…..

When the bridegroom (Jesus) came, they were not there, they had gone to get more oil, something they should have already done, and, when they came later and knocked they were turned away.  Jesus said to them, “I KNOW YOU NOT.”  He was not personally acquainted with them, because they spent little to no time with Him.  If you were a bride or bridegroom, would you marry someone that you were only knew a little?  A bride in love with the bridegroom will make herself ready for the marriage.  Being at the marriage supper is a great honour.

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him,”   Hebrews 11:6.

They did not believe Jesus when He said,

“But of that day and hour knowth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh,”   Matthew 24:42-44.

We have just seen, that the thief will divide the house of God, and only HALF will go with Him when He comes.  Wow !  Open your eyes wide beloved, before you are caught unawares.  Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers…  you both could fall in the ditch.

WHO ARE YOU HANGING OUT WITH?  IS IT JESUS?

“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:  For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God,”   John 12:42-43.

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”   Matthew 6:21-23.

“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.  If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work,”   2 Timothy 2:20-21.

Once the Lord gave me a dream that I was in a great official governmental building, for I was in a room that had silk curtains on one wall from floor to ceiling, they shimmered in the light and were a beautiful bright pink with an equally bright orange border.  Absolutely gorgeous!  In the center of the room was a great table with an American flag on a stand, at the head of the table.  Surely this was a room of great importance where many important decisions are made.

I walked around the room wondering where I was, and I could hear talking faintly.  I decided to investigate, so I walked out of the room towards the sound, and I saw a group of people standing around something in front of a wall.  As I approached and moved passed the people, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Ok, there were around five people anxiously and quizzically looking at a small wooden bowl attached to a metal rod sticking out from the wall.  I looked at the bowl and wondered what could have so captivated their attention.  What in the world?  What about the other room across the hall, and they were oohing and aweing over this, IN THE HALLWAY?

These people had their eyes on the wrong thing, many Christians have their eyes on the wrong thing and are distracted from their true purpose.  Our eye must be single for Jesus.  We need to be those vessels of gold and silver, of honour, and not of wood and earth for dishonor.  Let’s be tried and true to the Lord, no matter what anyone else is doing…

Let’s go back to the discussion on the virgins…  whatever happened to the foolish virgins who could not come in to the marriage supper?

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned,”   John 15:5-6.

So, were the foolish virgins lost now and going to hell because they were not ready when Jesus came?  NO, they are His children…  but there will be a price to pay. In the above scripture, the last word in the Greek is kaio, meaning to light, kindle or consume.  What are we talking about?  Men that do not bring forth fruit will be thrust out and purged.  He is not coming for a dirty bride, a bride that has not made herself ready by being obedient to the bridegroom.  Your relationship with the Lord cannot be taken lightly.

“For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.  According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire,”  1 Corinthians 3:9-15.

Beloved we are in a building phase, the Lord God has many Noe’s building arks of safety for the people of God for the days ahead, but I can see He’s building more than that.  And, the foundation has been laid, it’s Jesus Christ.

The work done on that foundation must be accurate, in agreement with that foundation, for the whole body to function properly.  Now if we start building the house with untruth or half truth, the walls of the house will be unstable and prone to falling.

Our strength lies with the Lord. If you have availed yourself to following less than spiritual ways riddled with the wisdom of the world, you are setting yourself up for a collapse as the shaking comes.  Each one’s work will be tried in the fire in the future, to see what sort of work it is.

If you are abiding in the Lord, your work will be as gold, silver, and precious stone, and will withstand the test of fire, AND be rewarded.  If not, if your work of wood, hay, and stubble, will not withstand the fire, AND you will suffer loss, BUT YOU WILL BE SAVED AS BY FIRE.

I want to hear the Lord say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant,” you were obedient to what I asked, now enter into the joy of the Lord.

“A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire,”   Matthew 7:16-19.

The Greek word for hewn is ‘ekkopto’, and it means to frustrate or hinder.  Your life and work will be difficult at best.  Who wants that?

The times are already difficult, and will grow more so.  This yoke you are bound with is heavy like iron and is surely hard to bear.

It’s time to change, it’s time to turn to the Lord with all your heart, and let Him transform your life.  Get yoked up with Jesus, get yoked up with the truth, for there is forgiveness at the cross.

Humble yourself before your God and He will lift you up, He will help you.

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing,”   Isaiah 10:27.

God bless you, it’s time to get ready, for the day is approaching…….

See also Part 3 and Part 4. 

 

God Bless You, you are in my prayers
~ Celeste Dewey

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Celeste Dewey